A global star and heâs not yet legal, NLE Choppa is Memphisâ new prized possession. At just 17, the rapper has already scored himself three Top 40 Billboard tracks in the US, a Top 10 album with polarising debut âTop Shottaâ and established himself as one of the South’s most explosive new names. On release, we said that Choppa âproves himself with a collection that balances his braggadocio and vulnerability to thrilling effect,â and now a once- brazen, gun-toting bad kid now embraces a Buddhist regime to work through life. Itâs already been quite the journey.
NLE Choppa talks to NME about his new spiritual journey, positive mental health, being a national superstar and what comes next.
Your debut EP, âCottonwoodâ was named after the area you initially grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. What was that place like for you?
âOne of my favourite memories is with me and my pops. Out in the front of our house we had a pecan tree. I saw him go pick up these hard ass shits and start eating them and I was like, âWhat is you doing? Youâre eating off the nasty ass ground!â. He was like, âLook! Crack it open – theyâre pecans. Itâs pecansâ. I cracked one open and they were fire. I was out there looking for them everyday. â
Thatâs a really positive memory, but the music doesnât always reflect thatâŠ
âI had a rough life, I just donât talk about that because thatâs the past and thatâs negative. Once I was about guns, I loved them, thatâs how I had to live. I was just too reckless and Iâm now moving away from that. Fuck guns, meditate. I donât need a gun no more because I know Godâs with me.â
Who are some of the musical influences that helped you through your upbringing?
âI listened to a lot of YGK, Lil Wayne as a kid that was what we were really bumping. But in Memphis, we donât really listen to a lot of famous rappers. We would listen to a lot of unreleased music all around the city. All I listen to now is my unreleased shit and reggae â Bob Marley and shit. My earliest memory of dancing is that I won a dance contest in Jamaica when I was 6. I won the dancing contest and my mum won the twerking contest. I do a lot of Memphis dances and if you came to Memphis, youâd see guys dancing just like me or Blocboy JB because you see us two doing them.â
The video for âShotta Flowâ is what turned heads â how are you adjusting to the big-time lifestyle?
âAfter the video for âShotta Flowâ came out, and I saw my views go up by millions, I knew I was famous. It did like 40k views on the first day, and that was just the power of manifestation. My brother said it was going to do a 100+ million views and it did just that. In the beginning it was hard for me to adjust to the new lifestyle. Like at first at shows, the way I was behaving was causing me not to get booked and I was missing out on show money. If youâre not getting booked, you ainât getting no money so I had to change. But I think I live quite regular â I havenât bought a mansion or a car. I may have a lilâ bit of jewellery, but thatâs all.â
“I donât need hope, I got faith. Everything I touch turns to gold and my blessings are coming true”
Has the birth of your daughter changed how you see the world?
âItâs a beautiful experience. When I found out that I had a baby on the way it changed my mind and my whole way of thinking. I knew I needed to change and be a better person for my daughter. I feel like if you let people know how you feel, they know how to approach you. Letting people know how you feel and being real with your fans is important because if youâre making real music then youâve got to be all the way real. I donât know why people canât believe that I can be mellow. In real life, Iâm goofy around people I know but my music portrays me to be hype when most of the time, Iâm actually mellow.â
On âTop Shottaâ, you spoke candidly about your battles with mental health. What helped you through that time?
âMeditation and changing your mindset by being more positive. It worked for me: Iâm no longer depressed, Iâd say Iâm more so confused. I feel like mental health â like Rod Wave said on the XXL round table â is a label. Youâre meant to wake up with different emotions everyday. Like people with ADHD, they wake up hyper but thatâs not wrong, thatâs just how they are. They donât need medicine for that, they need to learn how to figure how to be themselves regardless of whatever emotion they feel. They need to ground themselves spiritually. You canât overcome mental health by giving someone a label and giving them medicine for that. Thatâs not going to help everyone. Spirituality can work.
But I think itâs important to let your fans know that as a human you go through the same things that they go through. You build a bond with them by doing that and letting them in. It also helps for them to hear how you overcome it too.â
Why do you think youâre more spiritual than religious?
âI always knew I had a voice and I know everything isnât a coincidence. I prayed for things now in my life and for God to reveal myself to me and that I can help others. I feel like Iâm a light and I can change the world. Little things I can say could do that. Knowing that I have a sole purpose, I canât spend my money and do nothing. Iâve got to help people. I didnât grow up in a church. I believe in God and the power of prayer but I donât follow any religion. I meditate and ask God to show me the way. I use my time wisely, trying to stay in the present.â
Whatâs the future of NLE Choppa?
âI focus on the present because I have no worries about what the future holds for me. I really want to live in the moment because I feel like not many do and they lose what they have now on what they may have later. I donât need hope, I got faith. Everything I touch turns to gold and my blessings are coming true. A lot of the stuff I wanted to do Iâm now doing and you only need yourself to get far. By staying true to yourself and knowing what you want and can do, thatâs how you keep your longevity. Everything you want to accomplish is already within yourself so when you start to roll in self-doubt and think negative thoughts then youâll fall off. So keep visualising and keep knowing what youâre destined for, itâll come to you.â
NLE Choppa’s debut album ‘Top Shotta’ is out now
The post NLE Choppa: Memphis rap hero with the golden touch appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.